loosethreadstitchery

[loosethreadstitchery]

An older design. Blackwork embroidery on 14-count Aida cloth.

Pattern here (my site) or here (Etsy).

[loosethreadstitchery]

It looks great! I love the fill motifs you used!

I recently finished a bookmark for a friend, and decided to post pictures here. Based on a pattern by @loosethreadstitchery

[loosethreadstitchery]

It looks fantastic!

Bonus part 2 of the birthday gift: a bookmark featuring my first attempt at blackwork, using a free pattern from @loosethreadstitchery.

[loosethreadstitchery]

Blackwork Starburst. The fills fade a little bit toward the points of the star. My own design.

Pattern here (my site) or here (Etsy).

[loosethreadstitchery]

Beautiful work! I love the colours you chose, and welcome to blackwork!

Finished my first blackwork, this freebie pattern by @loosethreadstitchery! I swapped out the colors because I like greens and blues more. Turns out blackwork is really fun

[loosethreadstitchery]

I just finished one pretty large project and am in the middle of another, so I felt the need for something quick and easy. Just a few hearts on a bookmark. The pattern is here for anyone who wants it.

If you do make one of these and feel like sharing your work, I'd love to see it!

[loosethreadstitchery]

Most of the gradients I stitch have larger contrasts between the colours; these shifts between more similar colours were fun to work on.

Pattern here (my site) or here (Etsy).

Bonus photo because I like it enough that I might even frame the piece in this orientation:

[loosethreadstitchery]

This will look so cool on a tote bag!

oh hey i’m also making an embroidery project. pattern from @loosethreadstitchery i believe.

it’s a sampler of these mini squares, i have a rainbow of thread and the aida is on top of my usual tote bag. i’ll tear away the aida threads after it’s done to have it embroidered directly on the bag.

it’s been years since i’ve done any needlepoint. a few mistakes, but we press on!

[loosethreadstitchery]

Finished last night. Unlike my more geometric colour wheels, this one isn't separated into strict sections. In order to keep the transitions between colours as smooth as possible, the gradient areas had to be worked over a wedge shape. It took a bit of math and some adjustments while designing it, but the stitching itself was no more complicated than my other blackwork gradients.

Cross stitch and blackwork embroidery on 14-count Aida cloth.

Pattern here (my site) or here (Etsy).

[loosethreadstitchery]

It looks great, and welcome to blackwork!

ty @loosethreadstitchery for having freebie designs to try out - this bookmark was really fun to learn about blackwork with!!!!

& I like looking at the back of stuff & seeing how the thought processes changed so, behind the cut is the back

[loosethreadstitchery]

If you've seen just about anything I've stitched, you've probably noticed that I love rainbows. The prism that now hangs in my kitchen window has moved with me and been placed somewhere sunny ever since I was a kid, and the rainbows it casts always cheer me up at least a bit.

For this prism and its blackwork refraction, I played with layers a bit. The stem-stitched "white light" is actually behind the half cross stitches of the prism, while the blackwork sits on top of both the prism and its couched outline. Rather than have the rainbow fade out, I'll frame this one so that the blackwork runs right up against the frame, giving the impression that the rainbow continues on out of sight.

(Half) cross stitch and blackwork embroidery on black 14-count Aida cloth.

Pattern here (my site) or here (Etsy)

[loosethreadstitchery]

As someone new to blackwork, do you have any tips for making patterns? Are there typical/traditional shapes and motifs? Or is it more of a vibe?

Hi Anon!

There are collections of motifs out there, but I don't really use any of them. A lot of my patterns are repetitive fills in an outlined space, so my usual method is to work out the shape of the outline, then play around in a sketchbook or design app until I come up with fills I like. There are definitely elements in those fills that I keep coming back to, and elements in my designs that overlap with other designers, simply because we're all drawing on a grid and there are certain stitch combinations that fit together well.

For example, this shape and variations on it pop up a lot in my and others' designs because it's simple and tiles well, but I'm not reaching into a motif bank for it; it just comes out of my doodles.

I'm afraid I don't have a tried and true set of design steps here; it really is more of a vibe for me, and the more I do it, the more of a sense I get of what will look good (and what will make for a pleasant, easy-flowing stitching experience, because those aren't always the same thing).

[loosethreadstitchery]

I'm seeing those white curlicues in my sleep at this point, but the effect was worth it. Blackwork embroidery on black 14-count Aida cloth.

Pattern here (my site) or here (Etsy)

[loosethreadstitchery]

My take on 16 block blues by loosethreadstitchery. I bought this and several other patterns on Etsy,well worth it!

[loosethreadstitchery]

It's been awhile since I finished it, and I've been happy with plenty of pieces since, but this is still my favourite. It's framed and in my parents' living room now.

Whats your favorite piece you've made? Reblog with a picture, tag me, send it to me. You deserve praise for your work.

[loosethreadstitchery]

This is an idea I've been playing around with for awhile, and I finally worked out a design I'm happy with. The outer fill patterns combine where their sections overlap, and the resulting patterns are more intricate than their component motifs would suggest. Blackwork embroidery on blue 14-count Aida cloth.

Pattern here (my site) or here (Etsy).

[loosethreadstitchery]

When I said I'd continue stitching colour wheels until I was stopped, I meant it. Blackwork embroidery on black 14-count Aida cloth.

A total of 17 thread colours across 24 sections, each with its own fill motif.

Pattern here (my site) or here (Etsy).